Funny and heartwarming memoir about growing up the daughter of a Southern Baptist preacher in Eastern Kentucky. I love it when preconceived notions about what preachers are like at home get smashed -- in a good way. How can you not love a father who hums Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young to his daughter when she's seriously ill? ( )

Amusing light read, perfect for metro commuting. Beware of over-the-shoulder snoopers who see chapter titles such as "Faithfulness" and think you are reading a Christian inspirational tome. I was reading this one day on the metro, and this guy asked me about it, saying it's so rare to see people concerned with faith. When I explained it wasn't quite about that, he asked if I wanted to hear about Jesus. Thank someone my stop was next! ( )

It was alright. I lost my interest about 1/2 of the way through, but it got better towards the end. ( )

Outstanding! ( )

In Trespassers Will Be Baptized: The Unauthorized Memoir of a Preacher’s Daughter, Harvard graduate and former Miss Massachusetts Elizabeth Emerson Hancock recounts her childhood as the daughter of a Southern Baptist preacher in Kentucky. Set as a series of vignettes rather than a linear narrative, Trespassers reads like a David Sedaris book for the Christian set. Some passages are laugh-out-loud funny–including my favorite, in which her little sister uses a piece of poop to express her dislike for her father’s lunch companions as they sit across the table from her–while others are more touching and introspective. Hancock gets bonus points for not sugarcoating the details or pretending that life as PK was all rainbows and daffodils, and her presentation of her father’s struggle to balance his duties to the church with his desire to be a real family man is honest and rings true. Her gentle critiques of some of the “characters” of church life demonstrate an a willingness to recognize that even those of us with the best intentions have weaknesses, and she provides room for the reader to recognize and identify with these characters–and to grow from these recognitions– without feeling bad about it.

Readers need not be Southern or Christian to enjoy this book, though those who share Hancock’s background will surely appreciate and relate to her stories on a deeper level. In my opinion, Trespassers Will Be Baptized (what a great title!) belongs on the biography shelves with other humorous memoirs and should not be hidden away in the “Inspiration” section with the likes of Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyer. Click here to visit the author’s website and learn more. ( )